Noseworthy and Piercy were two fine fishermen
Off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland
Oh the ocean's an angel with the face of a flounder

Ah she holds the devil by the hand
Ah she holds the devil by the hand


"Good catch to you all," calls the captain, Robert Rose
The dory boats are lowered where the fathoms fall below
The red sun scowls and the wind the wiser

Whispering a warning o'er the lines

Those who dwell ashore know nothing of the lore

And the glory and the mystery of the deep
Salt water in our veins and the captain at the reins
Our wandering souls the freest

Our wandering souls the freest of the free

When the mother ship's cannon cracked the signal to return

The clouds were building bastions in the swirling up above
Poseidon the king and the wind his jester
Dancing with the Lightning Lady Fair

Dancing with the Lightning Lady Fair

The black water boiled and the dory pitched and toiled

Can you hear the klaxon calling out your name
Are we anchored to a fate to die upon the waves
Far from all our family

Far from all our family and friends

Tiny fingers pressed against the window pane

Find your father's star upon the sea
Keep your faith like teeth beneath your pillowcase
Until the day when he returns again

With breath of wind and bones of ice
They cast their cries into the night
Lost, alone, adrift, alive


After two days and nights with the oars in the grave
The two men were given for gone, gone away

Bitter news, it travels well, like a schooner on a swell
Their families learned the story of their fate


But on the ocean high a rescue had come by
And took them to the Old World on the far Atlantic side
After two months gone the blessed harbour of St. John's

Rolled in on the North Atlantic tide
Rolled in on the North Atlantic tide


For those who dwell ashore know nothing of the lore
And the glory and the mystery of the deep
But when the heart is strong you'll return where you belong

They made it back to Newfoundland
(They made it back to Newfoundland)
They made it back to Newfoundland again


Tiny fingers pressed against the window pane
Find your father's star upon the sea

Keep your faith like teeth beneath your pillow case
Until the day when he returns again